Many of our fellow brethren, loved ones, friends and other brave
members of the military are making a great sacrifice by serving in
our armed forces to preserve our freedom. Beginning with January
lodge meetings, brethren will be asked to empty their pockets of
change as they leave the lodge room and place their coins in a
collection container. The funds collected each month will be sent
by the Lodge Secretary to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, where
the lodge's donations will be logged and placed into an account
from which international calling cards will be purchased to send
to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. These calling cards will
enable our service men and women to better keep in touch with
their families back home.

How it Will Work

Funds will be collected at every meeting of
every lodge over the next two years.
The Senior Warden, when called on
for his comments at the close of the
lodge, is charged with announcing this
program to the brethren.

This is a true grass roots effort.
Lodge funds are NOT to be used for this.
The source of the funding is intentional;
it is to be the pocket change you otherwise
would have carried out of lodge and taken
home with you. This is deliberate. Each
donation is to be given directly from the hands
of the individual brothers at our lodges to our
troops in harm's way in the combat theaters of Afghanistan and
Iraq. Cards will only be sent to our men and women in those two
areas of operation - nowhere else. It is to be a conscious reminder
of the price our men and women in the armed forces pay every
day.

Each month, no matter what the amount of the collected funds may be, the Lodge Secretary is to send a check, issued by the lodge for that exact amount payable to the "Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania Change for our Troops Fund," to the Office of the R.W. Grand Treasurer in Philadelphia. By sending the contributions in each month, this will help to provide a constant and even flow of funding. The funds collected are to be part of the minutes to be read at the next Stated Meeting of the lodge.

Upon receipt in Philadelphia, the donations will be deposited
into that fund reserved for that purpose. Records will be kept so
each lodge has the full assurance that an individual accounting
of their contributions occurs. These records will be updated upon
receipt of the contributions, with acknowledgement being sent
from the Office of the R.W. Grand Treasurer to the Lodge Secretary
via e-mail.

Once a month, calling cards will be purchased in increments of
300 minutes; this amount has been chosen with consideration for
the time it often takes for calls to be placed from our military men
and women in these remote areas. The volume of cards purchased
will be a direct function of the funds collected and sent to the Grand
Treasurer. The cards will be placed in individual sleeves, (shown
above) and transported into both Iraq and Afghanistan. Once on
site, the cards will methodically be distributed to the servicemen
and servicewomen of all branches of service.

Why it Will Work

Bro. Peter Gardner, son of Stephen Gardner, R.W. Grand Master

While the change rattling in each of our pockets may not
amount to much, when combined they will add up to a considerable
gift... an opportunity for our troops in harm's way to call home
when the sound of a familiar voice and expression of love is needed
most. It's also our opportunity to thank them for their service and
their sacrifice.

We will incur no additional overhead expenses as a result of
this worthwhile program. This task is being absorbed and supported
by existing staff so that 100 percent of the funds collected will be
used for the acquisition of the calling cards.

The freedoms we enjoy have never been
free; they have come at an extremely high
cost, paid by veterans, as well as those troops
serving today. Brother by brother, month by
month, lodge by lodge... let's show them
our appreciation for their willingness to
Earn it Again.